The invasion of toy-based video games happened two years ago with the launch of Activision Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. Of course, Activision isn’t one to just release a hit game where it could be a franchise, just like with Obligations, Skylanders has had annual releases and 2013 brought Skylanders exchange force and the only difference this year was that Disney released its own take on the genre with the incredibly ambitious Disney infinity. Finally, we can determine which one really deserves your parents’ money.

This year’s real selling point Skylanders is the ability to change the bodies and legs of your new Skylanders. When you buy the starter pack, you get a new portal, the game, two interchangeable characters, and a normal non-interchangeable Skylander. Changing Swap Force characters is pretty easy; just unzip the character magnets and then change the caps. My favorite aspect of the Swap characters is that the bottom and top have their own leveling tree for different powers. As in previous installments of Skylanders, there is much variety.

Upon launch, there was a very limited selection of interchangeable Skylander characters. Activision concentrated on different previously released character sculptures rather than creating new ones. Although earlier this year, Activision has been doing a spectacular job of producing more characters. It was a shame that at the time of launch the selection was so limited.

After a long cutscene at the beginning of the game, you will finally be in control of your choice of hero. If you’ve played some kind of third-person action RPG, you’ll feel right at home. It’s your standard beat-em-up, go to the next area, more enemy characters appear to block your way. Rinse and repeat for the entire part of the long single player. There are some puzzles that require cooperation (like moving blocks to access a path) and other fairly standard puzzles. This won’t be difficult for anyone under the age of ten, so keep that in mind.

The true charm of the series has to be the overly stylized cartoonish look of the worlds and characters. Some gamers may find the overall package’s aesthetic appeal somewhat annoying and on its face, but in my opinion it works quite well for a game like this. The version I played was for the Wii U, so the bright colors and eye-catching characters made the game feel right at home with other Nintendo products. As a parent, you will never feel like your child will pick up on a joke that they shouldn’t hear.

Once again, when it comes to playing the game, nothing has really changed except for the new addition of The exchange force characters. The game essentially feels like the one above. Skylanders Titles. Which might be great for younger fans of the series, but for veteran players, it’s pretty much eye-inducing. I will say that combat is a little more attractive than Disney infinity. To who The exchange force, there was no stutter in frame rate as the game kept up with all the action on screen.

Of course, with a game franchise as large as Skylanders, most likely whoever is playing The exchange force you’ll want to experience co-op play and this is where the game really shines. If you are playing the game alone, it can get a bit boring and stale. With another person playing next to you, you can experiment with different character options. Hell, you could even change your The exchange force characters around for an added extravaganza. For some strange reason, this game still lacks online co-op and this is a misstep for a title like this. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that it is marketed to younger players, but even Disney infinity including this feature. I would classify this as developer and publisher laziness.

When it comes down to it, you have to wonder if this game is really worth the high retail price of $ 74.99. For me, absolutely not, but I’m not the target audience either. If you want a solid game that occupies your child or brother, Skylanders exchange force it’s a great choice. Although for the price, I would suggest taking a look at the top one Disney: Infinity also. They are mostly apples and oranges, but either option will keep your little ones happy.